House of the Dragon is very much a tale of families, the love or the drama between them, and in the case of the Targaryens, incest and murder.
They are the dragonlords at war with each other to claim the Iron Throne because the two factions believe they are entitled to it, but one family is about to come along and shake everything up during Monday's season finale.
The Game of Thrones prequel has had a turbulent second season, culminating with some surprise new dragonseeds— illegitimate children of Valyrian descent—and ambitious players who not only want to rule Westeros, but other significant houses across the realm.
For the first two-thirds of House of the Dragon this season, viewers were under the impression that Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) was just a young sailor who saved the Sea Snake's life in battle at the Stepstones. But that was all upended when it was revealed that Alyn and his brother Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) were actually the illegitimate children of Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Snake.
That means not only could they lay claim to the Driftmark throne, but Addam is a dragonseed, and joins Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in her war for the Iron Throne.
However, Alyn wants none of this drama and tries hard to keep his conspicuously bald head down and away from trouble. Alyn is seen in the show "religiously" shaving his hair to hide the "massive telltale" of the white dreadlocks that would tie him to his father, according to Salim.
"I've [Alyn] known for a very, very long time that Corlys is my father... but I'm in a place where I don't care about the status. I wanted and needed a father's love," Salim added, echoing a line from the show where he tells Addam to stop chasing Lord Corlys' approval because: "The Sea Snake would rather have High Tide claimed by the sea than call us his sons."
Alyn also has another reason for not wanting people to find about his heritage, because "if I'm found out to be the bastard, my life is on the line."
"Essentially for me, it's just about me and my brother, and the work I do and in my mind my life is nothing but 'salt and sea'," Salim explained, referring to the Sea Snake's house ethos. "I just want to keep my mouth shut, don't want to get involved and soldier on."
Even though Alyn is a practical man who wants to protect his younger brother, Addam's dragonseed status has thrown a spanner in the works for the sailor who yearns for a simple life. But he also has empathy for his brother's new path in life.
"I see it as a sense of Addam wanting a place to be recognized and Alyn understands that," Salim said, but he's afraid because now "their lives are at stake, and his brother is all he has."
These new revelations about their family line will force Alyn to commit an act in the finale that no one will see coming, according to Salim.
"In that final episode, there is something not of his character that happens, and that's where the psyche of this man is going," the actor said. "It's not an Alyn thing to do, and that to me as an actor is really exciting."
"The Alyn you see at the start of the season is different to the Alyn you see at the end," Salim teased.
HBO announced in June that House of the Dragon would be returning for a third season, meaning the Hull brothers will have the opportunity to return and Salim can't wait to sink his teeth into the role again.
"I'm excited to play the journey of where he is mentally... because there is such a transformation that he goes through," he said.
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